Advent

My next Christmas tradition I will tell you about is the Advent season. So what is it? Advent is runs from the Sunday closesest to November 30th until Christmas Eve. It is a time that we should be reflecting on meaning of Christmas. In fact advent is latin for "the coming". So we should be reflecting on Christ's first coming some 2000 years ago. Advent was first established by church leaders in the 6th centery.

What advent means to us has changed, or rather the focus has, over the years. In the early Church there were three things it focused on. These were:

1. The coming of the Son of God to earth in human form
2. The coming of Jesus into the lives, hearts and actions of those who accepted Him.
3. The future coming when Jesus will return to earth as a King.

Eventually the focused changed. Until World War II most people dwelled more on His second coming. As Christmas evolved as a holiday for children, Advent also changed. The focused came to be more on the child in the manger.

The early Church looked for ways to help people remeber what Advent was all about. The first of these was the wreath. The Vikings created the advent wreath. The evergreen was seen as a symbol of faith. It percervered through the winter while everthing as didn't. They placed a candle on the wreath to represent the light brought into the world with Jesus' birth. Eventually this symbol tradition was spread over all of Europe. More candles were eventually added. One for each week of Advent. The first three candles (usually purple) represente the the gifts of hope, peace and love. The final candle(usually) red symbolized the joy of new life gained through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Some added a white candle lit an Christmas Eve to represent Jesus' birth.

In the late middle ages stand alone canldes were added to the wreath. Originally one large candle was used. Marks were made on the candle and it was burned down to the mark for that day. Other traditions included using one canlde for each day of advent. On the final day a large cnadle was lit and each of the smaller candles was put out leaving only the large one. Some families incorporated prayer in the lighting of the canldes. In many chruches Advent candles to on special meaning. A candle was lit on each Sunday of Advent. They represented:

1. The prophets who told of Jesus' birth
2. The Bible and it's message
3. Mary, Jesus' mother, and her acceptance of her mission
4. John the Baptist who told the world that a savior was coming

Most chruches had a 5th candle lit on Christmas for Jesus.

The last tradition of advent is the newest and most common today. This is the Advent calender. It originated in Germany over 150 years ago. Some 200 years ago in Germany, Advent wreaths were being hung with 24 bags attached to it. These contained treats for the children. They were allowed to open one bag a day starting on Decmber 21st. The Calander was an outgrowth of this. By the turn of the century Gerhard Lang had started printing 24 pictures that could be glued onto calanders. By 1908 he was producing colanders. By the end of World War II this tradition had spread across Europe and the U.S.

So as we celebrate Advent this year use some of these traditions to rember what Christmas means to you. Reflect on Christ's coming into this world as a man, the coming of Jesus' into your hearts and His future return. 'Till next time.- THE GREAT ONE